


Between You, I Am Home

by RushingHeadlong



Category: Queen (Band), Smile (Band)
Genre: (but not Smile Era this is set in 1972), Blow Jobs, Early Queen (Band), Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Smile (Band) - Freeform, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:29:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28582035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RushingHeadlong/pseuds/RushingHeadlong
Summary: Brian and Roger get home from a terrible Queen show to find that Tim has returned early from recording in Rome.
Relationships: Brian May/Tim Staffell/Roger Taylor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Between You, I Am Home

**Author's Note:**

> There’s a small amount of Tim/Roger smut with Brian watching, though not participating. I don’t think it’s explicit or extensive enough to warrant an E rating on the fic, but if you want to avoid it it starts at “Unlike his kiss with Tim…” and runs nearly to the end of the fic, though you can start reading again at “I’ve missed this”.

Roger parks the van, kills the engine, and leans back in his seat with a tired sigh. Next to him Brian is still staring ahead with a vacant and distant look in his eyes. It takes him a moment to realize that they’ve arrived back home, but eventually he shakes his head a little and reaches over to card a hand through Roger’s hair.

“The next show will be better,” Brian says. It sounds like he’s trying to convince himself of that as much as Roger. “It has to be.”

Roger bites back a scathing comment about how things could hardly get _worse_ than they were tonight. He doesn’t have the energy to start picking a fight with Brian, and anyway it’s hardly his fault that there were only six people in the audience tonight. 

But still. _Six people_. 

That fucking _stings_. 

“Yeah, well, remind me to check on John tomorrow,” Roger says instead. John had been the one to book the show and it’s not his fault either that things had gone the way they did, but he’s bound to be blaming himself anyway. 

“You know he isn’t going to like us fussing over him,” Brian says. “And Freddie will probably beat us to it anyway.”

“Yeah, probably,” Roger agrees. Brian scratches at his scalp and he leans into the touch with another small sigh. 

Neither of them are in any rush to move, even as the van grows cold around them. A few long minutes of silence pass before Brian asks, “You wanna head inside yet?”

“Not really, no,” Roger admits. “I hate being home when Tim’s gone. It’s too quiet without him.”

“Yeah, I know,” Brian says. Tim’s been recording in Rome for nearly a month now and both Brian and Roger have missed him fiercely while he’s been gone. He’s supposed to be home soon, but in the meantime it’s hard to ignore the empty space in their bed every night. “But we can’t stay out here all night either.”

“We could,” Roger says. For the first time that night there’s the faintest hint of a smile playing around the corner of his mouth. 

Brian laughs quietly. “We _really_ can’t.” He moves his hand away from Roger’s head, and when Roger pouts at him Brian leans in to give him a quick kiss in apology. “C’mon, let’s get moving.”

They climb out of the van and Brian grabs his guitar case from the back while Roger stares at his own gear for a long moment before he finally asks, “Leaving this for the morning would probably be a bad idea, wouldn’t it?”

“If you don’t want it stolen overnight, then yeah,” Brian says. “But we can get it all in two trips, I think.” He grabs one of the cases in his free hand and Roger grabs as many as he can carry, and they set off towards their flat. 

It’s late enough that most of the buildings around them are dark but there’s still one light shining out from a window down the street - and as they draw closer, it becomes clear that it’s coming from _their_ flat. 

“Did you leave a lamp on when we left?” Roger asks as he sets down one of his cases so he can open the front door of the building.

Brian is frowning at their living room window. “I didn’t think I did… Are you sure _you_ didn’t leave it on?”

“Definitely wasn’t me,” Roger says as he gets the front door open and shuffles into the hall, grateful that they live on the groundfloor so they don’t have to lug equipment upstairs. “It must’ve been you.”

“I didn’t think…” Brian sighs and shakes his head. “No, you know what? It probably _was_ me, and I’ve just forgotten after that mess of a show.”

“Well I’ll forgive you for it this time,” Roger teases, but he’s slightly distracted by his fight to get the door open, and he curses under his breath when his key gets jammed in the lock.

“Stuck again?” Brian asks. 

“Yeah. Gonna have to take a look at it tomorrow.” Roger jiggles the key and tries the knob again - and this time the door does open, but not because of anything Roger is doing. 

It opens up from the inside and standing on the other side of it is Tim, grinning widely at Brian and Roger. “Hey boys,” he says. “I’m home.”

“ _Tim!_ ” Roger, laughing in disbelief, throws himself at Tim, and Tim stumbles backwards but manages to catch him around the waist. They swing around, and Roger leans down to kiss him within an inch of his life. 

Brian has the sense to kick Roger’s discarded cases into the flat and close the door behind them, before he gently nudges Roger aside so he can kiss Tim himself. Roger doesn’t go far though and he stays pressed against Tim’s side, watching as Brian melts against their boyfriend as Tim possessively licks into Brian’s mouth.

“Miss me, then?” Tim murmurs against Brian’s lips, and Brian laughs and pulls back so he can smile down at him. 

“Of course we did, you idiot,” Brian says fondly. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming home today?”

“I didn’t know I was,” Tim says. “We finished the album early and they offered to change our tickets so we could head home sooner, but we had to leave then and there and I didn’t have a chance to call.”

Roger rests his chin on Tim’s shoulder as he talks, and Tim laughs and gently nuzzles against him. “Anyway, I’m just sorry that I didn’t know where you were playing tonight, or I would’ve surprised you at the show.”

Brian’s expression goes a little pained at the mention of that night’s show, and Roger groans and buries his face in the crook of Tim’s neck. “Believe me, you were better off not seeing that disaster,” he mutters darkly. 

“Not a good one?” Tim asks. 

“Six people in the audience,” Brian says with a tired sigh.

Tim hisses in sympathy. “Well, there’s always going to be a few bad ones here and there. The next will go better, right?”

“If it’s all the same, I’d rather not talk about Queen tonight at all,” Brian tells him.

“Fair enough,” Tim relents. “Do you have more equipment to grab, though? I can help you bring it in.”

“Should’ve just fucking left it all in the van,” Roger mumbles, the words almost lost against Tim’s skin. 

Tim laughs and takes a step back, and Brian lets go of him but Roger stays plastered against him like a leech. “C’mon, Rog,” Tim says as he gently prises Roger’s arms away from his waist. “If we grab your stuff now we don’t need to get out of bed at all tomorrow if we don’t want to.”

Roger lights up at that prospect. “Now _that_ idea I like!” he says, and with a quick kiss to Tim’s cheek he darts out of the flat, leaving Brian and Tim, both laughing, to follow behind him at a more reasonable pace. 

“How was Rome, anyway?” Brian asks as they walk back down the street towards the van. 

“Nice enough, I suppose. Would’ve been nicer with you two there with me,” Tim says, flashing a grin up at Brian. “I didn’t really see much of the city, but the studio was brilliant. Morgan Fisher fell a little in love with the tech they had there so he’s already looking forward to going back for the second album, but-”

“Are you two going to talk all night, or are we going to bring this stuff inside?” Roger calls out. 

“Christ, Rog, keep your voice down before you wake half the street!” Brian hisses.

Roger just laughs and keeps pulling cases out of the van. By the time Brian and Tim reach him he’s double-checking the locks, and between the three of them they gather up the last of the equipment without any issues. 

“Brian was asking about Rome,” Tim says as they set off back to the flat. “Y’know, taking an interest in my work like a _good_ boyfriend does…”

“Hey, I was getting around to that!” Roger insists. 

Brian laughs and Roger scowls and knocks his shoulder against his. The added weight of the drum cases unbalances Brian and sends him stumbling off the sidewalk. Brian scowls at Roger, who just gives him an innocent look before he asks Tim, “So how _was_ Rome? Did you end up getting Earth recorded again?”

“I did, yeah,” Tim says. “It’s part of the title track, along with - hey, Brian, you’ll like this - part of Holst’s Jupiter as well!”

Brian makes a small excited noise. “You got permission to use it, then?”

Tim nods and he’s grinning again, his happiness pouring off of him - not just happiness about a job well done on the album, but also his pure joy at being back home with his boyfriends again. “We did, yeah,” he says. “So that’s the opening and closing of the suite-”

“The _suite_?” 

“Nine parts. And twenty minutes long,” Tim says, and there’s a laugh bubbling up at the edges of his words despite his efforts to hold it down. “It’ll take up the entire b-side of the album.”

“Fucking christ,” Roger says with a laugh. “That’ll be an experience to listen to!”

“That’s the hope,” Tim says as they reach the flat and Brian jogs ahead a bit to get the doors for them. “Anyway, I was only teasing you before. We don’t really have to spend the rest of the night talking about what I’ve been up to.”

“I don’t mind,” Roger says. He motions Tim inside first, and then follows behind him and shoves his drum cases in the corner where they’ll mostly be out-of-the-way, nearly tripping over Brian’s discarded boots in the process. “You know I like hearing about your music, even if it’s not what we’re doing.”

There’s no escaping just how different Tim’s taste in music has become, especially compared with what Brian and Roger are doing with Queen. It really makes it clear that they made the right decision by breaking up Smile, even if it’s still hard to be apart from each other when their different touring and recording schedules keep separating them. 

“I know, but I’d rather take care of the two of you instead of talking about myself,” Tim tells him. 

Brian comes up behind him and drapes his arms over Tim’s shoulders, holding him close against his chest. “You don’t have to do that,” Brian says. “You spent all day traveling back home. If anything, we should be taking care of _you_.”

Tim tilts his head back to look up at Brian and says, “But traveling was easy and, from the sound of things, you two have had a much rougher go of things today than I did.” 

Roger takes a small step forward, not quite trapping Tim between him and Brian but certainly closing the distance between them all nonetheless. He settles one hand on Tim’s hip and just brushes his fingertips underneath the hem of Tim’s shirt so he can graze them against bare skin. Tim shivers at the gentle touch, and Brian nuzzles against the top of Tim’s head. 

“It’s not a competition, you know,” Roger says. “Just ‘cause our show was shit, that doesn’t mean you need to ignore how you’re feeling and worry about us.”

“Well someone has to worry about you two, and I’ve been living with you two since uni so I _know_ what your standards for self-care are like-”

Roger playfully jabs at Tim’s side, and Tim laughs as he tries to squirm away from the ticklish feeling - though he can’t move far with Brian still plastered against his back and refusing to let go. 

“We aren’t _that_ bad these days, honestly,” Roger says, and even though he rolls his eyes his smile belies the fact that he’s not really irritated by the teasing. 

“True, but I’ve still been gone for a month,” Tim says. “So if it’s all the same to you two, I’d just like to make sure for myself that neither of you are about to drop dead on me.”

That last bit is obviously a joke but there’s a seriousness to Tim’s words too. Roger’s eyes flick up to meet Brian’s over Tim’s head, and without anything needing to be said it’s clear that they’re thinking the same thing. As much as they missed Tim while he was gone, at least they had each other; Tim was the one who’s been _alone_ for the last month. Once they have that perspective, they both know that they’ll let Tim do whatever he needs to do to feel at home again. 

“Alright, that’s fair enough,” Roger says after a moment. “What do need from us to know that we’re alright?”

Tim lets out a small exhale and kisses Roger, a brief and silent thanks. “Have you two eaten yet?” he asks when he pulls back. 

“Yes. Before the show,” Brian says, a little mumbled since his face is still buried in Tim’s hair.

Roger nods to confirm that Brian is telling the truth. The guitarist is notorious for forgetting to eat and then lying rather than admit to it, but that’s not the case tonight. 

“Glad to hear it,” Tim says. “I’ll still want to make you breakfast in the morning, though.”

Roger laughs. “You’re assuming that we’ll let you out of bed at all in the morning.”

“A late brunch then,” Tim says. “Maybe a _very_ late one. And in the meantime…” He sets one of his hands over Brian’s where they’re resting on his chest, and reaches out to place the other on Roger’s waist. “Do you want to head to the bedroom now?”

It’s a genuine question, not merely a coy attempt at seduction. Tim is intimately familiar with what Brian and Roger are like after a show, and given how tonight’s gig seems to have gone he doesn’t know how eager they’ll be to get off. He isn’t sure if his unexpected return has changed their mood or not, and he certainly doesn’t want to make any assumptions one way or the other. 

Brian whines softly and shakes his head slightly, a clear enough sign that he’s still not feeling particularly frisky after the disappointing Queen show. Roger glances up at the guitarist again, clearly getting the same read on the situation, and his own response reflects that well enough too. 

“To be honest, I should really shower first,” Roger says. “There might’ve only been six people there tonight, but I still worked up a sweat while drumming.”

Tim bites back the comment about how he doesn’t mind Roger being a bit sweaty and instead asks, “Do you want company in there?”

“I’d love that, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to replace the shower with a bigger one before you got back,” Roger tells him.

“Ah. Well, damn, we really need to get on that,” Tim jokes, even though they won’t have the money for that any time soon. 

One day, though, when they’re rich and famous and actually own a place of their own, they’ll have a bath big enough to fit all three of them and a proper king-sized bed to sleep in… though no doubt they’ll just end up snuggled up close together in the middle anyway. Either way, for now - and for the foreseeable future - it’s still just a dream. 

“Luckily, I don’t think showering alone will kill me,” Roger says. “Though… Brian, would you prefer if I wank off while I’m in there or is it okay if Tim and I…?”

“No, I don’t mind,” Brian tells him. “I don’t think I want to join in tonight, but I don’t mind watching.”

“That’s my favorite little voyeur,” Roger says, and he leans up to kiss a blushing Brian over Tim’s head. “You two go on and head to bed then, and I’ll join you in a few.”

Roger heads off down the hall towards the bathroom, and even though Brian is clearly reluctant to let go of Tim they do eventually make it to the bedroom where Tim starts gently stripping Brian out of his clothes. There’s nothing sexual to the gesture, even though Tim can’t resist pressing gentle kisses to his chest as he lifts Brian’s shirt over his head, or trailing his fingers along Brian’s hipbones as he tugs down his trousers. This is just Tim, needing to feel his boyfriend for the first time in a month - and Brian, needing that touch to keep him from slipping into darker thoughts after that terrible concert. 

“Are you alright, Brimi?” Tim asks as he finds a pair of what he hopes are clean pajama pants and helps Brian step into them. 

“Yeah.” Brian sighs a little. “I’m sorry, I know this wasn’t the welcome home you wanted…”

“I don’t mind, honestly,” Tim assures him. “I still get to see my two boys, after all. That’s the most important thing here.”

“Still…”

“Still nothing,” Tim says firmly. 

He gently pushes Brian onto the bed before stripping fully and climbing up to settle next to him. He knows that Brian won’t care on whit about his nudity and it’ll make things easier with Roger if he just gets naked now. 

“You had _six people_ show up to your gig. I’d be more worried if that _didn’t_ get under your skin,” Tim tells him as Brian snuggles a little bit closer to his side. Tim strokes one hand through Brian’s hair and asks, “Do you to talk about it at all?”

“What’s there to talk about? No one was there and it was shit,” Brian mumbles as he buries his face in the crook of Tim’s neck. 

“Was it shit just because of the small audience? Or was it technically bad as well?” Tim asks. 

Brian sighs. “ _Technically_ , I suppose it was fine. Which I know means that this probably wasn’t our _worst_ show ever, but it still feels like it was.”

“Yeah, and I’m not saying that tonight’s show has to feel _great_ either,” Tim says. “But remember that Smile show when I pulled my fucking lead out of my bass when I stepped onto stage? Or the 1984 show when your amp was acting up and no one could hear you playing at all? At least _that_ didn’t happen tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

The response from Brian is mumbled but Tim can still feel him starting to relax against him - just the reaction Tim had been hoping for. They all get in their heads about bad shows, in their own ways, but while Tim just needs some time to whine and Roger needs an outlet to blow off his steam Brian can get himself so worked up about things that his entire mood can plummet if they aren’t careful.

That doesn’t seem to be the case tonight, though. Brian is still quiet but not worryingly so and he’s not trying to cut himself off from Tim. He’s running his hands gently over Tim’s skin and pressing the occasional kiss to Tim’s shoulder, and when Tim scratches at his scalp Brian sighs contentedly and leans into the touch. 

It would almost be easy for them to fall asleep here, curled up together in bed like this, but they’re both acutely aware of the absence of their third partner and they both perk up when they hear the bathroom door open and the sound of Roger walking down the hall. By the time Roger pushes the bedroom door open both of them are propped up on their elbows and waiting eagerly - and a little anxiously - for him to finally join them. 

“Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes,” Roger says as he leans against the doorframe and soaks in the image of his boyfriends waiting in bed, a picture finally made complete again now that Tim has returned home.

“We could say the same about you,” Tim says, and he shamelessly rakes his eyes over Roger’s naked, and still slightly wet, body. 

Roger laughs as he finally walks fully into the room, stopping at the edge of the bed to lean over and gently cup Brian’s cheek. “Still okay with me fooling around with Tim?” he asks quietly.

Brian nuzzles against his hand, then turns to press a kiss against his palm. “Yeah, of course.”

Roger leans down to kiss him properly, though he keeps it soft and chaste. “Thank you,” he says - and then he climbs over Brian and rolls Tim onto his back so he can straddle his hips, and lean down to kiss him as well. 

Unlike his kiss with Brian, this one is hot and demanding. He sucks on Tim’s tongue and Tim digs his fingers into Roger’s hips, coaxing him to start moving against him, and even if neither of them are fully hard yet they both know that it’s not going to take long to get there. They’ve both missed this too much over the last month and the only thing that could make it _better_ would be if Brian was joining them - but even as the guitarist moves back slightly so he has a better view, he’s still here. The three of them are still together again, and that’s all they ever need. 

“How do you want me?” Tim pants against Roger’s mouth as he rocks up against the drummer. “Wanna fuck me? Or want me to fuck you?”

But Roger shakes his head and says, “Tomorrow. Don’t wanna take that long tonight.” He ducks his head to mouth at Tim’s neck, kissing and nipping at the column of his throat as he asks, “Your mouth? Unless you just want to get off like this…”

Both are tempting proposals, but Tim knows which one he wants more. “Wanna suck you,” he says, and even though he loves the feeling of having Roger on top of him he sits up so they can change positions. 

Brian brushes Roger’s hair away from his face once he’s settled on his back and Roger grins up at the guitarist. “Enjoying the show?” he asks, spreading his legs wide so Tim can get into position between them. 

“More like, enjoying not having to deal with you on my own anymore,” Brian teases. The energy of his partners is certainly helping to buoy his own spirits, even if he still has no desire to join them tonight himself. 

“Hey! I’m not that- _ohh_.” The rest of Roger’s complaint is cut off as Tim licks a stripe up his cock, swirling his tongue around the head before swallowing him down to let him finish growing hard in his mouth and throat. 

It’s not the most refined blowjob that Tim has ever given, but it doesn’t need to be. His technique may be a bit sloppy tonight but he more than makes up for it in enthusiasm. It’s messy and Tim chokes on Roger’s length more than once, but when the drummer finally spills into his mouth his release is all the sweeter for the weeks they just spent apart.

Tim sits back up and, at Roger’s urging, he moves forward to straddle the drummer’s chest and Roger reaches for his cock, stroking him quick and efficiently. Brian finally sits up as well and he wraps a hand around the back of Tim’s head and pulls him into a kiss, licking the taste of Roger out of his mouth. 

Tim groans and Brian swallows it down, and when he bucks forward Roger thumbs over the head of his cock, and the two of them focusing on him at the same time like this is a heady and overwhelming combination. After being away and _alone_ for so long Tim knows that he’s not going to last long, not when Roger and Brian in the flesh are _so_ much better than any memory his imagination has conjured up over the last month. And sure enough it’s only a scant few minutes before Tim groans out a warning, and Roger leans up to suck the head of cock into his mouth just as Tim’s orgasm washes over him. 

Brian quickly moves aside so Tim can roll off of Roger. He settles between his two partners, because even with the terrible show that they had earlier there’s still no question of who’s going to be sleeping in the middle tonight. Roger is boneless on his one side, and though Brian is half-hard against Tim’s thigh he doesn’t grind against up against him - just curls up close with a contented sigh. And Tim relaxes too, now that he’s been assured that both of his boyfriends really are alright.

“I’ve missed this,” Tim says softly. “Missed you both, so fucking much.”

“Missed you too,” Roger mumbles sleepily. “But at least you’re back now.”

Roger snuggles closer to Tim and throws an arm over his waist, and when Brian wraps an arm around him as well Tim is bracketed between them, comfortable and warm and finally back _home_ \- and nothing in the world could get him to leave again anytime soon.


End file.
